• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their MIAC Playoff opener against Hamline sitting at 8-15 overall, while boasting a 6-13 record in conference play. The Cardinals finished ninth in the regular-season conference standings and enter post-season play as the ninth seed.
• MIAC HISTORY: Saint Mary’s is making its second straight MIAC Playoff appearance on Saturday — and just the third post-season appearance in program history. Saint Mary’s made its first post-season appearance in 35 years following the 2019-20 season, beating Bethel 72-59 in the opening round, before falling to St. Thomas 79-66 in the semifinals. The MIAC did not have a post-season tournament in 2020-21 due to COVID-19.
• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals suffered their second straight heartbreaking defeat, as Carleton scored the game-tying basket with six seconds remaining in regulation and went on to outscore Saint Mary’s 14-4 in overtime in dealing SMU a 76-66 setback Monday in Northfield, Minn.
• HITTING THE ROAD: Saturday’s matchup at Hamline is the second straight road game for the Cardinals, who collected five of their eight wins on the road this season, going 5-7 away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.
• HEARTBREAKERS: Last Monday’s loss to Carleton marked the second straight game in which SMU’s opponent scored the game-tying or game-winning basket in the waning seconds. The Cardinals fell to Concordia 65-64 last Saturday when the Cobbers drained the game-winning 3-pointer with less than three seconds remaining in regulation.
• CLOSE CALLS: Thirteen of Saint Mary’s 23 games this season have been decided by 11 points or less, including six of its last nine games — a 76-72 loss at Macalester, a 69-58 win over Hamline, a 73-70 setback at Gustavus, 65-64 losses to St. Olaf and Concordia, and last Monday’s 76-66 OT loss to Carleton.
• WORKING OVERTIME: Last Monday’s 76-66 loss to Carleton was the Cardinals’ second overtime game of the season. Saint Mary’s also dropped a 79-73 decision to Augustana on Nov. 16. The two overtime games this season were the first since SMU went 2-0 in OT games during the 2019-20 season.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.), who has scored 10 or more points 16 times this season, enters SMU’s opening-round post-season game averaging 16.5 ppg, followed by Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 10.5 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 8.1 ppg), Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 6.4 ppg), and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 6.3 ppg).
• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony has poured in 20 or more points in a game seven times this season, including back-to-back 20+ showings against Gustavus (23 points) and Bethel (22 points) on Feb. 2 and Feb. 5, respectively. … Anthony has scored 20 or more points 12 times in his career. … Frechette and Zach Kjeseth (Wabasha, Minn.) are the only other Cardinals to eclipse the 20-point mark this season. Frechette has recorded 20 or more points in a game four times — including a 23-point effort against Carleton last Monday, and a career-high 24 points against St. Scholastica on Jan. 29 — while Kjeseth delivered a career-best 20 points against Concordia last Saturday.
• TWENTY x 2: With their 22- and 20-point performances against Bethel on Feb. 5, Anthony and Frechette have both scored 20 or more points in the same game twice this season — having also recorded 23 and 21 points, respectively, against Gustavus on Feb. 2.
• WHAT A SENIOR SEND-OFF: Kjeseth — playing his final regular-season home game — poured in a career-high 20 points to lead the Cardinals in scoring in last Saturday’s 65-64 loss to Concordia.
• CAREER NIGHT x 2: Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) and Buysman each recorded single-game career-high performances against Hamline on Jan. 26, with Sawyer scoring 18 points — including 10-for-10 from the free throw line — while Buysman chipped in 16 points. … All 18 of Sawyer’s points against the Pipers came in the second half.
• CAREER SCORING PERFORMANCES: Saint Mary’s has had 10 players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (35 v. St. Scholastica), Frechette (24 v. St. Scholastica), Freetly (23 v. Macalester), Kjeseth (20 v. Concordia), Sawyer (18 v. Hamline), Buysman (16 v. Hamline), Ziegler 15 v. St. Scholastica, v. Hamline), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill. / 12 v. Concordia), and Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn. / 10 v. Gustavus).
• CARRYING THE LOAD: Anthony’s career-high 35-point performance against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4 accounted for more than half of the Cardinals’ 68 points — and was the team’s highest single-game performance since Eli Cave scored 35 against Martin Luther on Nov. 18, 2018.
• DOUBLING UP: Anthony picked up his fifth double-double of the season against Augsburg on Wednesday, scoring 10 points and adding 11 rebounds. Anthony — who now owns 10 double-doubles as a Cardinal — missed his first collegiate triple-double by one assist against UW-Superior on Dec. 28. … Freetly recorded his second double-double of the season — and fourth of his collegiate career — against Concordia last Saturday, netting 10 points and adding 10 rebounds.
• SEEING DOUBLE: The double-doubles by Anthony (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Freetly (11 points, 10 rebounds) against Crown on Jan. 3 marked the first time since Wylie Ferron scored 16 points and added 11 boards, and Quashingm Smith-Pugh chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds, against Martin Luther on Nov. 15, 2016 that the Cardinals had two players record double-doubles in the same game.
• OH, SO CLOSE: Lockwood missed out on his first collegiate double-double by one point against St. Olaf Monday, scoring nine points and adding a career-high 10 rebounds.
• DOUBLE DIGITS x 5: The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures against Concordia on Jan. 15. Freetly led the way with 17 points, followed by Anthony with 14, Mallory with 12, Buysman with 11, and Frechette with 10. … The Cardinals’ performance against Concordia marked the first time since Jan. 11, 2020 that SMU has had five players score 10 or more points in the same game.
• PLENTY OF OPTIONS: All 10 SMU players who saw playing time against Bethel on Dec. 11 scored at least two points. … Eleven of the 12 Cardinals who took the court against Augustana on Nov. 16 recorded at least two points.
• ON THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 16.5 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team in rebounds with 179 (8.5 rpg), while Freetly is second with 110 (5.0 rpg). … Anthony has led or shared the team lead in rebounds in 16 of SMU’s 23 games. … Saint Mary’s recorded a season-high 54 rebounds against Crown on Jan. 3.
• GOING DEEP: The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3 pointers against Saint John’s on Dec. 1. … SMU’s 12 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game school record. … Saint Mary’s has knocked down 172 3-pointers through 23 games, led by Ziegler with 38, and followed by Frechette with 33 and Freetly with 25. … Ziegler has posted two games with five 3-pointers this season. … SMU boasts 11 players who have recorded at least one 3-pointer this season. … The Cardinals — who have recorded 10 or more treys in a game five times this season — attempted a season-high 34 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23.
• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s has dished out 289 assists, including a season-high 17 against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 30. Anthony leads the team with 94 helpers, while Freetly (38) and Ziegler (29) have also recorded 20 or more assists this season. … Anthony’s nine assists against UW-Superior on Dec. 28 were a season- and career-high.
• PERFECT FROM THE LINE: Sawyer was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line against Hamline on Jan. 26. His 10 free throws were the most since Anthony knocked down 13 of 15 attempts against Augsburg on Feb. 5, 2020. … Sawyer’s effort against the Pipers marks the first time since Michael Burfeind on Jan. 12, 2013 that an SMU player has gone 10-for-10 from the line.
• FEW TRIED: Saint Mary’s attempted 13 free throws against Hamline on Jan. 26, with just two players — Sawyer and Anthony — accounting for all 13 attempts. Sawyer finished 10-for-10 and Anthony was 0-for-3.
• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals are shooting 40.9 percent from the field (588-for-1437), with 172 3-pointers, and are 177-for-291 (60.8 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s is averaging 66.3 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 69.8 ppg clip. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 83 points in their 83-78 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 28. … SMU has recorded a season-high 30 field goals twice this season, vs. St. Scholastica on Jan. 5 and v. Bethel last Saturday.
• BIG SECOND HALF: The Cardinals’ 47 second-half points against Bethel on Feb. 5 were a season high, and marked the fifth time this season SMU has scored 40 or more points in a half this season — with four of those five 40+ efforts coming in the second half.
• INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Anthony picked up his second MIAC Athlete of the Week honor on Monday, after averaging 22.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg in SMU’s two conference games. The junior was also named MIAC AOW on Dec. 6, and was a member of the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on Dec. 7, while also being selected to the D3hoop.com Classic All-Tournament Team on Dec. 31.
